Umrah is a sacred journey to Kaabah that lies endear to each and every Muslim living on the Globe. Muslims across the globe, especially those living in non-Muslim countries, prefer to travel with Umrah tour groups. Pilgrims can choose for their own ease, Umrah packages from UK-based OTAs and travel agents too. One can choose according to their budget and convenience. To perform Umrah, every Muslim has to fulfil four of its fundamentals. To leave any of it would result in the nullification of one’s Umrah, or would at least levy a pilgrim to go for an expiation. Those four fundamentals are Ihraam, Tawaaf, Sa’I and Halq or Qasr. We would first be explaining these to have people get know-how as to what Umrah is and then would discuss the topic of how many times can Umrah be performed in one Trip.

Essesntials of Umrah

• Ihraam:
Ihraam is the name given to the clothing worn by Muslims intending to go for an Umrah. It consists of two white sheets, one covering the lower body and the other covering the upper body respectively. This is the Ihraam for male pilgrims. For female pilgrims, it is their regular, modest dresses with a Hijab covering their heads. One has to come to the state of Ihraam before entering a meeqat, a station that defines the Hudood of Haram. These are present on all sides of Haram. For instance, if one is going from the subcontinent to perform Umrah, their meeqat is Yalamlam. Pilgrims need to come to the state of Ihraam before that point, or else, an expiation would be levied on it. Once in this state, one comes under the obligations of Umrah. This dress code symbolises Unity, piety, humbleness and remembrance of one’s coffin, hence a way of repentance and subsequently, the pleasing of Allah SWT.

• Tawaaf:
Tawaaf is the name given to the counterclockwise circulation of Kabaah. It is one of the fundamentals of Umrah, where pilgrims go round and round around the Kabaah while chanting several Duas. It consists of seven rounds. For the first three rounds, the male pilgrims are required to place their right shoulder out of their Ihraam, which is called Rummel, and the last four rounds are to be made as usual. After these rounds, the pilgrims are required to perform two rakahs, which marks the completion of their Tawaaf.

• Next is Sa’i, which is going to, and coming from, Mount Safa and Marwa. This act is performed in remembrance of the act of Hazrat Hajra A.S. when she was in search of water for her infant son. It also consists of seven rounds. It will start from Mount Safa and will end at Mount Marwa.

• Upon the completion of all previous acts, one is required to shave their head (Halq) or cut some part of it (Qasr), which marks the completion of Umrah. However, female pilgrims are not required to shave their heads completely, rather they had to cut a small proportion of their hair. After that, pilgrims can come out of their Ihraam and go for normal clothing.

Now that we know how to perform Umrah, let us discuss the question in hand as to how many times a pilgrim can perform Umrah on his visit. Well, there’s no such obligation or limit on that. One can perform as many Umrahs as he wants, depending on his resources, physical strength, etc.
For pilgrims planning on performing multiple Umrahs in a single trip, there are a number of Meeqats surrounding Kaabah itself. When a pilgrim is returning from Madinah back to Makkah, his Meeqat is Zul Hulaifah. Pilgrims can put on their Ihraam from there and can perform another Umrah.

Other options for Meeqats are the Meeqat of Mosque Ayesha R.A, which is the nearest to Kaabah. The next near spot after this one is the Meeqat of Jura’ana. Meeqat of Taif also lies in the vicinity of Makkah, and the pilgrims can go there with ease to put on Ihraam. One can even perform a separate Umrah each day. However, Umrah is a supplication requiring physical strength. Hence, one should plan it on their own ease and comfort in order not to get sick of tiredness.